A reason to live
by RagnellAlondite
Summary: the last unawakened male warrior now searches for his reason to live on with the newest gereration of claymores.OcXMiria DISCONTINUED!
1. Chapter 1

_ Servitude_

The man sat in his room as he had always since his comrades had awakened. He never considered the idea of escaping, simply because he knew that the world had changed since he had last been outside, fighting Isley when he had awakened. After barely surviving the battle with him he was locked away and what seemed to be forgotten. The organization considered him an unusual warrior. He was never tempted to awaken and had only used his yoma powers once, when fighting Isley. Now he had one job, training himself to be stronger and on the rare occasion fight alongside the current number one. The last one he had served with was Riful, a young girl who had called him big brother. He never did find out what happened or why he wasn't allowed to work with her anymore. It was on this day that the doors to his large room were opened. In stepped the elders with grim looks in their faces.

"We have work for you to do." One said.

"The current number one has gone AWOL. We need you to go out and kill her."

"Riful has rebelled?" he asked.

"No. Riful awoke some time ago. The new number one is Terresa of the faint smile. Find her and if you deem yourself strong enough, kill her, if not then report back here and we will send others to kill her." The man said.

"Very well." He said, standing and grabbing his claymore he took his private passage to the outside world and began tracking down the traitor. He travelled for several days until he reached a town where he could feel a warriors presence. Walking into the town he found his target. She was fighting a yoma that was in the town and with little effort killed it. The villagers were well pleased that she had defeated the beast and put her up in the best lodgings they had. Surprising him was that a young girl, no more than ten was travelling with her and seemed attached to her hip. As they entered he walked up next to her and whispered "Don't cause a scene. Once the child is asleep meet me fifty meters south of the town. If you do not show yourself before sunrise then I shall kill you and all present in this town."

"Who are you?" she whispered.

"That is none of your concern." Was the reply as he walked off.

It was late when she finally arrived, trying to look at his features that the black cloak concealed. With a single motion he let the cloak fall and revealed himself to her. He was a man with smooth features. His hair was the silver color of all Claymores along with his eyes. He wore light silver armor, just enough to cover the vital areas over his jumpsuit.

"A male warrior. How is it that you still exist?" Teressa asked.

"I exist because the organization still has need of my skills. You are only the second woman in the organization to have seen me. Now Teressa of the faint smile I would like to know why you have betrayed the organization."

"I betrayed them because I killed bandits that slaughtered an entire town, and chose to live instead of being executed."

"So that is why they sent me," he sighed "Very well. Let's see if you can match my blade. I am Christopher the unconquerable and I will destroy you." Drawing his sword he crossed the difference that separated them in the blink of an eye and swung his sword with immense strength. She dodged quickly and began to fight back but he could tell that she was not releasing yoma energy either. As their blades clashed in the moonlight he began to get the feel of her fighting style until he could predict her movements before she even made them.

"You are strong." He said as they fought.

"As are you, no wonder you are still around after all of these years." She said as she blocked his sword "Tell me how come I have never heard of you before?"

"Simple." He began as he blocked her thrust "My presence is only revealed to the current number one when there is a mission that they feel will cause them much of a problem. Only one other has seen me since Isley awakened and that was Riful."

"I see. So they sent you here because they thought that you could defeat me. That is foolish indeed." She laughed as her smile appeared. With releasing ten percent of her yoma energy she struck with greater strength and force but could not break his guard. After several more minutes of him letting her hammer away at his defenses he moved out of her range and focused his yoma energy into his arm and swung. The force of the swing created a shockwave that created a shallow wound on her left shoulder.

"That was one of my signature moves. The Wind Fang, and at its weakest. That was only one percent of my total power. You stand no chance against me. Surrender yourself and I shall be merciful and give you a swift death." He offered.

"Not a chance." She grinned. Before either of them could move the young girl from earlier ran out and moved in front of Teressa.

"Move away child. I have no business with you." Christopher said.

"No. I won't let you hurt Teressa." She said firmly.

"That's enough Clare. I can take care of myself." Teressa smiled at the child. Unwanted memories began surfacing in his mind as he remembered the few times he had worked with Riful. She had seen him as a big brother and always tried to protect him from the powerful yoma, even though he never needed the protection. With a smile he sheathed his claymore and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?"Teressa asked.

"Back to the organization to say that I could not kill you. They will send a team of warriors next time and they won't be as merciful as I was. May luck and happiness follow you, Teressa and Clare." He said as he walked east.

Once he returned and gave his report he returned to his room, pondering what had occurred. The next day he heard that Teressa had been killed by the awakened power of the new number two and had killed the numbers four and five and tore off the arm of the number three.

'It appears that they were not meant to be together in the end. My apologies to your spirit Teressa of the faint smile.' He thought to himself after the man left who gave him the report. With that he resumed training and repressing his yoma energy for several more years until he was again called to serve.


	2. Chapter 2

_I do not own Claymore in anyway._

_Breaking Free_

Christopher sat in his room, feeling for his youki that was buried far deeper than he remembered. As he sat there the door to his room opened and Rubel walked in.

"We have work for you." He grinned as he straightened his hat over his bald head.

"I'm listening."

"We want you to go to a town to the west; we believe that the hit squad we sent will be faced with difficulty."

"So you left out details." He grinned. He had known Rubel since he had first joined and deemed him to be a friend to him. It was him that had told the higher ups to let him live and serve in secret or dangerous missions, and for that he was thankful.

"That's irrelevant. Just go and if necessary help out you female comrades." He said. With that he left and travelled quickly until he reached the mountain where he felt the 4 warriors and the awakened being that they fought.

"They don't stand a chance." He growled as he moved closer, but out of detection range. He saw the being and recognized that form.

"Jacob." Christopher growled as he watched the former number five fight the four woman. He then spat out his tongue and ripped off the left arm of one of the woman sending her falling off the mountain. After spitting it out it said something that he couldn't hear that enraged the other into attacking.

"Fool. He's just egging you on." He growled as he moved the long white cape on his back into a more comfortable position. As the one fell into the trap the other moved in and blocked his attack with her blade.

"47!" the woman shouted.

"47? What is such a low ranking warrior doing here, and how is she able to block his attack?" he whispered, becoming intrigued. After a second the tongue wrapped around the woman and flung her into the ground. With that the one woman who fell into the trap released her youki and extended her arm past Jacobs multiple appendages, lopping off three of them. Soon after he had reattached them and was attacking her back. Jumping over Jacob the one who had fallen off the cliff moved in between them and chopped off the attacking arms. During her absence she had grew the missing arm back.

"Impressive. That is not a combat skill, but to have the ability to use it she must be high ranking." Number 47 then returned to the battle as Jacob regrew the missing arms "I better get ready to fight myself. They won't last much longer."

During the break in the battle the leader said something that caused Jacob to respond.

"I'd heard that Miria no. 6 had extensive knowledge, but you made one major mistake. You should know what it is." He said. After a brief moment of shock the leader, Miria yelled "Wait! Are you…?"

"What? Is something upsetting you girlie?" he asked. Miria looked back over her shoulder and realization flashed over her face.

"Well… I guess it's time…I gave you a taste…of true despair." Jacob sighed. Moving faster than they could follow he struck while Miria shouted "All of you…RUN!" But it was too late as he shoved his arm through the warrior who had powerful regeneration abilities. Miria then struck, yoma energy pouring out of her. Dodging he leapt into the air and sent his claws into 47. The warrior with the extending arms tried to attack him but he moved behind her and slashed down her back, leaving only Miria standing.

"So… how does it taste?" he asked, showing his twisted nature "It's too bad, isn't it? I think you've made a fine warrior. You're smart, with good instincts. For warriors it's not just about strength. They won't live very long if they're not smart. And yet if they are too smart they won't live long either."

"What are you? She asked.

"Like you said… the remains of what was once a male warrior. No more, no less. I dispose of the warriors that are sent to kill me to stay alive. That's all."

Before he could react Miria moved at a speed that Christopher had never seen before. With a single step she had grabbed the one with regerative powers and had moved her out of the way.

"This is no time to be worrying about your friends. You'd do well to worry about yourself." He snarled as he sent his claws into her, or so he thought because as soon as they made contact they passed right through her without even doing any damage. She appeared standing above 47 seeming to see something that looked promising. Jacob then leapt into the air to attack Miria yelling " Now you're finished! Time to die!" As he sent his claws into her and smashing his hand where she was standing. Not realizing what had happened she had disappeared and reappeared with the other two, laying them down by the third.

"Heh heh heh. Now I see. For a brief moment you can move at a frightening speed. In that instant you are faster than any other warrior. Even among your comrades, no one can match your speed. You must be a single digit. You move like a phantasm. You must be the one called … Phantom Miria. How fitting." He said, showing his analyzing powers "But I sense weakness. You don't keep it up for long. Could there be a reason for you being so cautious?" Miria then began unleashing her youki " Let's see… if your technique will prevail against me." Then she struck moving with such speed that all Christopher could see was her after images. No matter how hard Jacob tried he could not keep up with her amazing speed. However after several minutes he could see that the technique was taking its toll as she was finally caught.

"You really gave it your all. But I knew that it couldn't last. I had only wait for you to reach your limits" Jacob boasted. With that Christopher struck, losing his usually controlled temper as he knew what would happen to her. Before Jacob could react he had sliced of the tongue that was extending toward Miria and the arm that held her in place.

"What on earth?!" Jacob bellowed.

"Are you all right?" Christopher asked Miria as he looked at her. There was something about her that awoke his desires, something that he had not felt since he had become a warrior.

"I'll be fine, but who are you?"

"Yes who are you warrior?" Jacob asked, clearly angry.

"You forgot about me already? Now that is rude Jacob." He grinned.

"How do you know my name?!"

"You served under me as number 5. Back when I was number 3. I am Christopher the unconquerable." He grinned as faced Jacob.

"What? A male warrior?" Miria asked. Christopher then struck with speed that rivaled many in the organization but with more precision and force. After slashing off several arms and slashing out his right eye he stopped when he felt something familiar. Stepping back he saw that number 47 was up and was going to fight.

"So the weakest of them still wants to play?" Jacob asked as he sent his claws at her, but just before they hit she moved slightly and dodged them. After she got close enough she sliced off one of his arms, leapt into the air, which caused him to send his claws at her which she quickly sliced with a circular motion of her sword. He then tried to wrap his stump of a tongue around her but she sliced through it landed on what remained, flipped onto his back and chopped off the four arms that were up there. She then tried to stab him through the neck but the scale plate on tit stopped her. She was then thrown off and kicked further away.

"What is with you? I can't tell if you're strong or weak." He complained.

"You're fine when reading yoma energy but switch to offense and you lose power." Miria began after she had stood up "You have to attack in an instant or better yet read his yoma energy while releasing your own. Otherwise it's pointless. In short you need practice."

"It's a powerful technique but you are not ready to use it in combat." Christopher agreed.

"I know that. I know already!" she snapped as she rose.

"Wait! I have something to tell you. You see…" Jacob said desperately.

"Watch out… below us." 47 said.

"Even in this condition I'm still a single digit." Miria said. Christopher just nodded, knowing that Jacob intended to attack from below. And as predicted his five claws burst from the ground, one at 47 and two each at himself and Miria.

"There are many things that I want to ask but since you won't tell us." Miria said as the three of them took a fighting stance.

"Lets go. And don't fall behind you two." Christopher grinned as he released the smallest amount of youki.

"Same to you." Miria smiled as the three of them struck. Leaping higher than the other two he aimed his strike for the armored portion of Jacobs's neck.

"Wind Fang." He growled as he sent the slash with five percent of his yoma energy through Jacob. Once he was dead did they check on the other two.

"How is she?" the one with extending arms asked.

"Not good. She used all of her energy regenerating her arm, so her stomach wound isn't healing. It all depends on her own strength." Miria said.

"So why aren't you hurt worse? You took more blows than the rest of us."

"Her vital organs are intact. With a little time, her wound should heal." Was the answer.

"Now there is something I need to ask you both. It's extremely important to all of us, so I need you to answer as honestly as possible." Miria began "Has there ever been a time when either of you have almost awakened?" This peeked Christopher's curiosity, her had never heard of a partial awakening. After a brief pause 47 answered.

"Yes. Awhile ago I fought in Rabona cathedral, I exhausted my strength and made the mistake of forcing my yoma power to its limits. I felt a rush of suffering and ecstasy. Somehow I was able to pull myself back." She said calmly.

"Same with me." The other one began "I got carried away and lost control. The impulse to awaken was too strong, just like it was for the males. But I was able to turn back and repress it." She explained "It happened to Deneve too. She told me about it. It was when she was trying to discover her limits."

"When was that?" Miria asked.

"Around the same time as me." She answered.

"Then answer this… have either of you caused problems with a client or for ordinary folk?"

"I have, a few times. Because of the code I have never taken a life but I have come close. For Deneve, it wasn't other people. She's more the type to stir up trouble against her own kind."

"I see. And that leaves a low-ranking warrior who disobeys orders and runs wild from time to time. And a male who has somehow survived until now." She began "All the warriors here, except him, have are troublemakers who have come close to awakening."

"I don't get it. Are you saying that there's something behind this job?" the one who was friends with Deneve shouted.

"This is only speculation but it's my theory that we we're problem cases who were sent to fight an awakened being that we were no match for."

"Then where do I fit in?" Christopher asked "I was sent here to ensure that you lived."

"I think that they wanted you dead so they sent you here to make it convenient for them or for you to awaken in the battle and kill us." Miria said.

"Where do you fit in?" 47 asked "You don't look like an awakened being, or a problem case."

"I nearly awakened, too. On my third hunt for an awakened being, I realized that I was hunting an old friend. I hacked off its arms and legs and was about to push the blade into its throat when I realized it was her. Until that moment she hadn't said a word, called my name or reverted to her original form to show me her face. From that moment on I swore to take revenge on the people who made me what I am today." She said.

"Then you didn't awaken?"

"Ahh… so it seems. I knew that I'd lost control of my yoma power, but I tried my best to surpress it. I think I also hated that **she** was the one who had pushed me to that point."

"She?" Christopher asked.

"As I was saying… after that, I plotted my revenge against the organization. I won't forgive them for what they did to my body, or treating us like we are expendable. I did my best to look dutiful, but I was secretly investigating the organization. I was looking for a weakness. And that's how I learned the organizations greatest secret."

"What do you mean "Its greatest secret"" the one with extending arms asked.

"Some things are better left unsaid. If I told you there would be no turning back." Miria said calmly.

"So you learned something that the organization wants to hide, and now they are trying to get rid of you?" 47 asked.

"Like I said, it's only speculation. But we do have one thing in common." Miria asked.

"I have one more thing to ask. Has anything changed in us since we came close to awakening?" 47 asked.

"Each of you must have felt something. Before awakening and after, the quality of our yoma power is clearly different. It isn't limited as it was before. And now and then, you feel pangs of hunger. We four have already awakened." With that 47 seemed calm while the other reacted in shock and angry confusion.

"You're not serious! Don't lump me together with those monsters! We aren't like that! I have no desire to eat human intestines!"

"Let me explain." Miria began "It's not that we have fully awakened, but rather, we're in a half awakened state. Most fully awaken in one step but we have stopped short of that for some reason. Or we may gradually awaken."

"No. Wait!"

"Limb expansion and massive regeneration powers are possible at the outer limits of one's yoma power. You used these without difficulty in a fight only after you came close to awakening didn't you?" This caused her to be silent "After you've crossed over, returning to normal should be impossible."

"Then… then… what will happen to us? Are we going to just sit back and watch ourselves awaken?" Deneve asked once she regained consciousness.

"Deneve!" the one woman shouted, seeing her friends awake.

"I'm sorry, that's all I know. We could of avoided awakening all together or be slowly moving towards it. Either way… we won't know when and where we could awaken. All we know is that the situation is precarious." Miria said. After a pause Deneve pushed herself forward.

"Alright I'll be the test case. Watch closely." She said.

"Watch what?"Miria asked.

"This." She replied as she unleashed her energy.

"Stop it Deneve! If you force your yoma power in your condition…" Miria began.

"Shut up and watch. If I don't force it and try to regenerate then I'll die anyway. Let's see if I can release all of my Yoma power at once. If I were in a half awakened state I can use it to heal this wound instantly. And then without fully awakening, I should be able to return to normal. But if I can't do that and I awaken… then don't hesitate to kill me."She said as the power poured out of her. Without hesitating Christopher, 47 and the other Claymore grabbed their swords.

"Helen! Clare! Christopher!" Miria exclaimed.

"Deneve, you're an old friend. We won't let you suffer." Helen said.

"Right. We won't fail you." Clare agreed.

"You death will be swift if necessary." Christopher said with a grim face, as the three of them readied their blades. With that her power burst forth with a flash of light, and Christopher was sure that she had awoken. Without a moment's hesitation the three of them had the blades at her throat.

"Give me a break. I'm back." She said as the dust cloud cleared.

"Deneve!" Helen exclaimed.

"Hmph. That was close." Miria said.

"How is the wound on your stomach?" Christopher asked as he offered her a hand up.

"It's fine. It finally closed up." She said.

"Enough of this madness. You came back, but you may not be so lucky next time. There is too much we don't know. If you want to keep your human consciousness, you'd better not be so reckless."Miria admonished.

"I know. I could live without another risk like that." Deneve agreed. Suddenly Clare turned and seemed wary.

"What is it Clare?" Miria asked.

"I think that we are being watched." She answered.

"Don't worry. I've checked the area. I don't sense our comrades aura's from here to the mountains. And even if someone were beyond that they couldn't know we were here." Miria said, reassuring them.

"We will part ways now." Miria said "Go back to your regions and your posts. We may have been misinformed about the job but we carried it out. That's all we did. It would be too risky to join now against the organization. We know nothing and we suspect nothing… we finished our job and went home. That's what we want them to think. But don't let your guard down, even for a moment. Be careful with every step you take. Meanwhile, follow orders and keep a low profile. Try to stamp out your images as trouble makers. They're in no hurry to get rid of us, so we should get away with this for awhile. Except for me."

"But what will you do now, Miria?" Clare asked.

"I'm past the point of no return. I'll keep investigating the organization. Our awakening doesn't leave us much time, so I'll let you know as soon as I find something out. Don't do anything until you hear from me." She explained.

"Besides, she won't be alone. I will be helping her." Christopher said.

"Don't worry. Your powers have grown since you almost awakened. You'd rival any single digit. In the unlikely event that you have to fight with one of your comrades you won't be overwhelmed. You can imagine the strength of those below me from having seen me No. 6. Numbers 6 through 9 are about the same. If you had to take any of them one on one, you should be able to handle them. The problem is numbers 5 and up. To tell the truth there is a big leap from 6 to 5." She then took her blade and drew five symbols into a rock face. Looking at them he didn't recognize a single one, even though they were the numbers of 1 through 5.

"These are the marks of the top five. Remember them. From the right it's No.5 Rafaela, No.4 Ophelia, No.3 Galatea, No.2 Beth, No.1 Alicia. Each of them is a monster. If you meet any of them, avoid engaging them." She explained.

"There is someone higher." Christopher said as he added one more symbol in front of Alicia.

"Who's is that?" Miria asked looking at the simple cross shape. She then saw that the symbol was his.

"That's right. I am Christopher the unconquerable, organization number 0." He said "But you have nothing to fear from me. I will work with you, I have no loyalty to those who have imprisoned me."

"Everything I have said up till now is only speculation. There's no clear evidence that the organization is trying to dispose of us. Remember that. You don't have to view our comrades as enemies. But be careful. Never let your guard down around anyone." Miria said as she put her sword in front of her the blade facing them. They each raised their sword and had the tips overlap .

"May we live to meet again." Miria said marking their bond. With that the other three left leaving him with Miria.

"Will you being coming with me to headquarters?" Christopher asked.

"Yes. I need to give my report. And there is something that I want to ask you."

"I'm listening."

"When you saw Clare there was a look in your eyes. How do you know her?" she asked.

"I met her once. Before she became one of the warriors. Back when she was normal. I was sent to kill the traitor Teresa, and she was traveling with her." He replied as they climbed down.

"But the reports say that it was an awakened one who killed her."

"That's true. I couldn't bring myself to kill her, once Clare had stepped in front of her. It reminded me of when I was allowed out more often. But with your help I will find a way to escape and finally live my life."

"So you would choose to live for yourself instead of fighting with us."

"No, I never said that. I will fight with you. Who else could oppose Alicia and Beth? Besides, it goes against my nature to leave such a beautiful woman in distress." He grinned as he looked back at her. After a sight blush she punched him muttering about him. They soon returned to the organization and he was soon locked away again, biding his time until he could do as he pleased.


	3. Chapter 3

_I do not own claymore in any way._

_Well here is the newest chapter for you all. you should expect at least one more chapter before the month is out._

_Siblings_

It wasn't long until he was called to leave again, this time it was a searching mission.

"Number 47 has disappeared. We want you and Galatea to go out and find her." Rubel explained.

"Why send me? Surely this Galatea can handle this herself." He asked.

"We think not. Number 47 was last assigned to work with our number 4, to exterminate an awakened being. We found the target dead and also found the awakened remains of number 4. Since there were no other warriors present we can safely assume that 47 killed her and has gone into hiding." He explained.

"Very well. However I would like to make a request." He said.

"A request? What could you possibly want?" Rubel asked.

"A better weapon. I no longer feel that the claymore will serve me well. If you could, I would prefer something lighter, so that I can maximize my speed." Christopher explained. Rubel thought for a moment and finally responded.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Something with equal length, though much slimmer in the width, a single sided blade, a smaller guard and a clothe wrapped hilt." He explained.

"Alright. I'll tell the higher ups. If they approve of this then your new weapon will be ready by dawn. If not then you will leave in one hour." He said as he left. Waiting for word on his weapon was maddening but once the hour passed Rubel returned with his usual grin.

"It's been approved. They feel that if you can better serve us with such a weapon then use it. You leave at dawn, once your new sword is completed." He said as he closed the door.

Dawn came all too slowly for him but once the door opened he saw that it was one of the elders waiting with his new weapon.

"Before we give you this weapon we want to know why you have requested such a sword." He said, hoping he would say something traitorous.

"To improve my fighting style. A claymore hinders my speed and makes it harder to use my full powers. With that new blade I will be many times faster and thus many time stronger." He replied calmly, only giving them what they thought he would say.

"Very well. Get going, Galatea is already a day ahead of you." He snapped as he handed him the blade. It was exactly what he had described with a sheathe for it made of hardened wood painted to match his silver armor with red patterns near the guard.

Moving quickly he left the organization and travelled west until he found Galatea. He moved quickly and matched her pace so that he could pull up beside her.

"You're late." She said as he ran next to her.

"Sorry. There was a delay." He replied as they stopped. She then started to search until she muttered something.

"I have found her but she is about to be in trouble. She has entered the den of Riful of the west." She said.

"Riful? The former number one? He asked, getting worried.

"Yes. Now we need to find a way to get her out of there before she notices her." She growled.

"Simple. We just go in after her." He laughed as he left. Running faster than Galatea could he reached the entrance and sensed the massive youki that was inside. Walking carefully he saw that Clare was fighting an awakened being. He was large and seemed to have thick armor around his entire body. He also had rod like things protruding out of his elbows. Sensing the youki coming from the awakened being he knew who it was and grinned.

"DUPH!" He yelled as he enter their sight.

"Huh? Who's there?" he asked, shaken that someone knew his name other than Riful.

"Your commanding officer." Hs grinned as he walked closer.

"Christopher?" he asked.

"If you forgot about me like Jacob did I will be extremely pissed off." He said. He then walked into full view so that Duph.

"It is you!" he exclaimed in shock.

"So what are you doing to my comrade there?" he asked hand reaching for his sword.

"Breaking a weak warrior." He grinned "If you've awakened then feel free to join us."

"Us?" he asked.

"Yeah Riful never turns down a strong awakened. You would be right at home here."

"So Riful is here." He sighed. Then striking quickly he slashed off one of Duph's fingers that had been pointing at Clare.

"What are you doing here Christopher?" Clare asked.

"I was sent here to bring you back to the organization. I thought that Miria had told you to keep a low profile?" he said.

"I couldn't. I was faced against Ophelia and was forced to kill her when she awoke, and now I have been searching for Raki." She explained.

"Raki?"

"Someone I was traveling with, someone I care very much about."

"Ouch!" Duph screamed as blood gushed from the missing finger "Why did you do that?!"

"Because we are enemies. I have not awakened yet, where as you my friend have. Therefore if our roles were reversed I would expect you to do the same. It's nothing personal, just business." He replied. Then Galatea walked in and was mumbling something about castrating Christopher.

"It's about time slowpoke." He laughed. Then Duph tried to punch Christopher but missed. Galatea and Christopher then proceeded to attack Duph and cause him endless grief. After a few minutes Christopher nodded to her and she grabbed Clare and started to leave.

"Don't you turn your back on me!" he roared as he fired one of the rods from his elbows at her, but it didn't even come close to hitting her.

"Your aim is slipping." Christopher grinned as he attacked. Duph knocked him away and fired rods from his fingertips, and the stump of a finger at the two leaving but they all missed. Finally he fired a larger one into the ceiling blocking their escape.

"Wow, good thinking Duph. You trapped yourself in here with the organizations numbers three and zero." He laughed as he nicked his arm. Then he and Galatea started destroying him, with Galatea's ability to manipulate her opponents yoma energy slightly she made all of his attacks fail until she cut off his right hand.

"Gosh… he really is rather stupid isn't he? That's why even though he's my man I really can't brag about him." A voice said form where they had left Clare to repair her wounded legs.

"Damn. She came earlier than I expected." Galatea cursed.

"Hey, Duph! What exactly are you doing letting your hand get cut off by those two?" she asked

"But but…! My punches and stuff don't hit them at all. That's why…" he cried.

"What are you talking about? There's no way that they would not hit." She said.

"No. It's the truth really! That's why…"

"Alright, I get it. Then I'll just teach you a way to make your punches definitely hit." She sighed "But after that you better make sure that the next one hits. Just smash into them with all your power."

"No, you see, that's what I've been doing this entire time already! And I still can't hit them!" he whined.

"Just shut up and do it. Let me tell you now though: If you miss this time it's over between us." She threatened.

"No… No anything but that. Dammit. You! This is all your fault!" He roared as he tried to punch Galatea. At the last second she dodged but if she hadn't he would have crushed her

"Huh? It didn't go off target." Duph said clearly surprised. He then proceed to target only Galatea with everything that he had, seeming to forget about Christopher.

"Yes, that's the way! If you had fought like that from the beginning you wouldn't have lost your hand." She said.

"I wouldn't be too sure." Christopher growled as he slashed at her. Flipping back off the rubble from the ceiling she sat on she dodged his strike and looked him full in the face.

"Big brother?" she asked.

"Riful?" he stopped.

"It is you!" she exclaimed locking him into a back breaking hug.

"Riful. You're hurting me." He gasped. With that she eased up her grip a bit but still refused to release him.

"I'm so happy to see you! Did you come here to become my ally?"

"Sorry but no. I came to get Clare, that's all." He said patting her head.

Suddenly they felt a burst of energy and saw Clare rushing to save Galatea who was about to be killed by Duph. Once she had moved her she started going over her limit but with help from Galatea she managed to revert.

"Awww. What's this, I thought that you had finally awoken." Riful said "A high ranking warrior, an enigmatic warrior who can turn back even after going over her limit and the last unawakened male warrior. I really like you three. I think that I will make you into allies of mine." She grinned as she released Christopher from the hug. Galatea then started talking with Clare about how there had only been three disastrous cases where a number one had awoken, and finally asked Riful what the three abyssal ones, as they were called, were planning with them gathering awakened ones to join them. Riful then explained that Isley had attained a strong awakened being after she had gone on a rampage through the north and that now he was slowly expanding his territory and beginning to pick a fight with the other two. She then spoke a little of the woman which caused Clare to begin to lose control.

"Where…Where is she?"

"What was that I can't hear you?" Riful asked.

"Tell me the name of the man in the north! I will kill this woman of his!" she proclaimed unleashing her yoma energy.

"Why do you know her?"

"That's none of your business. Just tell me his name and location this instant!" she growled.

"Tsk tsk. That's quite the attitude you've got there. Let's say that if you can cut me once then I shall tell you." Riful said playfully. Without wasting a second Clare moved straight for Riful Who was blocked by Duph.

"Too bad, but that was close." She said. She then struck again and again until Galatea stopped her before she awoke.

"That was a clever trick." Christopher said as he sheathed his sword, not feeling the need to interfere with this fight.

"Awww. She was so close to awakening too." Riful complained.

"You realize that I could tell them myself and help them escape." He pointed out.

"You wouldn't. You like letting people work for their knowledge. That's what you always did with me at least." She giggled.

"True." He agreed as he sat down. He watched as Clare ran off deeper into the castle to get another warrior before she would awaken while Galatea released her energy to an extent that it surprised him.

"You realize that they will escape and defeat him." He said.

"Care to make a bet on this. Since the two of us won't be fighting it should be fair. If you win and they escape then I promise to let you leave here. If I win then you awaken."

"Why would I agree to that? I gain nothing if the warriors win." He smirked.

"Alright. If you win then if you ever awaken I will make you my man. Is that a better deal?"

"Probably the best I will get out of you." He laughed. They then watched as Duph fought Galatea to the point that she was exhausted. Then Clare and another warrior came up from the level below.

"Wow. I thought that I had made her awaken. These people really do amazing things." Riful said. Then Galatea and Clare attacked each taking an arm while the third one prepared some attack. Once she was ready the two of them tried to keep his arms back while the third one, who Galatea called Jean, charged forward, her right arm twisted up. Seeing the attack coming he pulled his arms together knocking the two into each other while he raised his left hand to defend against the thrust that was sure to come. Jeans arm then spun and pierced through his hand, tearing all except his pinky finger off. Reacting quickly and in pain he knocked her out of the way and onto the floor.

"Well I guess that ends the match." Riful said, looking at Christopher.

"It isn't over yet." He grinned as Clare stood up.

"Just stop it the match is already over. I don't want to kill you. Just torture you and make you awaken and then we can be friends. If I kill you I lose everything." Riful said. Clare then spoke quietly to Jean who began to prep that attack again while Clare prepared to clear the path for her.

"Remember Duph I want her alive, so don't overdo it." She said as Clare attacked Duph's face with amazingly quick slashes. When he tried to counter attack she moved with greater speed than Christopher had seen on the mountain top and attacked him from behind. She then dodged his attack and attacked him from above his head with the next flurry of slashes. Finally she faked him out to think that she was going to attack from above and then attacked him from the front. After a few moments Clare got knocked away and he realized that Jean was ready to launch the attack that had destroyed his hand. He launched the rods at her which Clare blocked once she had gotten up. With an order from Clare Jean went in to attack, so when Duph tried to stop the attack Clare moved in and stopped him by using the speed slash to only cut up his arms.

"Impressive. She focused the attack to only attack his yoma energy." Christopher noted. When Duph realized his arms wouldn't stop her he prepared to launch the rods from his open mouth, but was forced shut by Galatea manipulating his energy again, which allowed Jean to spin the sword again and pierce through his throat. When Jean turned to finish the job thin red strands wrapped around Jean and pinned her to the ground. Christopher turned to see that Riful had transformed her right arm and had stopped Jean from delivering the killing blow.

"Sorry. I really wanted you to savor your moment of glory a little longer. But I really can't be having this." Riful said as she stood "After all is said and done, he is still my man after all." Clare then leapt forward and swung her sword into Riful's head, just stopping above the eyes.

"Well… I will consider this as one cut." Riful said as she transformed into her awakened form. When she transformed she destroyed the entire passage way leveling off everything so that they could see the clear sky.

"I really wanted to end this before things escalated this way…because someone weird is close…and I really don't like having my power measured. I see that the organization is cunning as usual. When did they manage to create something like that?" Then Duph, who was wrapped in the red rope like things that were her body coughed "Oh, I'm sorry I forgot about you Duph… it would be bad if you died on me! Someone like you who can accept me without breaking." She then tossed Jean over to Clare "I'll give her back to you. A reward for defeating Duph. By the way: you two are already halfway there. Rather than forcefully making you awaken now, leaving you to ripen a bit more and reaping the results seems far more delicious. Until you awaken…become stronger! And then wake up. That way you will be even stronger awakened beings. AH… yes that's right…I promised you something didn't I? That I would tell you about the man in the north if you could cut me just one time. Alright, I shall tell you. Especially you really did give it your best in this battle…" she began

"His name is Isley." Christopher interrupted "He rules the northern lands of Alfonse, known as the silver king."

"The northern lands of Alfonse, Isley." Clare repeated.

"Let me tell you right now though: don't go there expecting to just fight and win because it went so well this time. He isn't nearly as kind and warm hearted as me. If you want to defeat that man become allies with me. That is the single fastest way to do it. Until then I'll be waiting. Lets meet again." She said as she lowered herself next Christopher and whispered "Especially for you. Once you grow tired of serving the organization." With that she disappeared into the ground to return to her deep sanctum.

"Damnit. So far…everything is far." Clare cursed as she fell to her knees in despair.

"Well now that that's out of the way it's time to return to our original mission." Galatea began "Number 47, we were told to bring you back to the organization. Dead or Alive. If you come back without a fuss good. If not then I will bring back your corpse. Which will it be?"

"Right now I have no intention of returning to the organization. There is something that I must prioritize over everything else." Clare said.

"Does that mean that you want to return to the organization as a corpse? Is that how I am supposed to take it?" she asked. With that Jean and Christopher both moved in front of Clare.

"What is the meaning of this you two?"

"I am sorry but she saved my life. I have decided to use it for her sake." Jean answered.

"I am done following the organizations orders. I will follow my own path, and it follows Clare at the moment." Christopher said, his hand reaching over his left shoulder to draw the sword.

"You will both be targeted by the organization. Are you prepared to deal with that?"

"I had already lost this life. I do not intend to stretch it out at the cost of my honor."

"They can send whoever they like after me, but they better be ready to bury them soon after." He grinned. Galatea then turned and began to leave.

"Low rankers like you two should not have been able to survive a battle with an abyssal one you encountered. He went in and tried to save you both and died. Additionally you bodies were chopped and crushed so badly that I couldn't retrieve them." With that she began to leave.

"You're letting us go?" Clare asked in disbelief.

"Thank you Galatea, we really owe you this one." Jean said.

"I do not need any debts from the deceased. I do not know whether we will be allies or enemies the next time we meet. But in any case, try to stay alive until then." She then left them standing in the ruins.

"Yeah it's a promise. Let's meet again Galatea." Clare said. They then began to leave the ruins travelling in whatever direction Clare walked in.


	4. Chapter 4

_*Well because of school there will be a short break between this chapter and the next. Enjoy and I promise to update as soon as I'm finished updating the other stories I'm working on._

_North_

The three of them had been walking for a few days and Christopher could tell that Clare was getting annoyed about the company.

"Why are you both following me?" she asked as they marched.

"My life is yours. It's as simple as that." Jean said.

"Because I can." He laughed as they continued walking.

"You realize that I have received compensation from you already Jean." Clare said. Pausing she turned and drew her sword and unleashed the quick sword that cut up the trees but not either of them.

"Impressive." Jean said.

"It's thanks to you." Clare said as she explained how Jean having awakened but maintaining her mind had taught her how to truly use the quick sword. Christopher then drew his sword and struck at someone who was emerging from the trees. They heard the clash of metal as they saw it was a fellow warrior and that it was number 5 Rafaela. Christopher was fighting with incredible speed that if it wasn't for the large blade she would have been dead.

"My, my, my. He sure is feisty today." A man said as he entered their view, revealing himself to be Rubel.

"What are you doing here?" Jean asked.

"We've been sent to get you."

"What happened to Galatea?" Clare asked.

"For telling such obvious lies as soon as she gave her report she was executed on the spot." Rubel said, to their horror "At least that is what I would like to say. She is still to useful so we have her going on constant missions. If she lives, well then good for her." He then turned to watch as Christopher easily outclassed Rafaela, and was getting closer to killing her.

"You're too weak." He grunted as he knocked her back.

"Now that's enough Christopher. We came here to offer you to come back to the organization without any transgressions against you." Rubel said, trying to make sure that number five didn't get killed "There have been a large number of awakened beings in the north and we have already lost our number seven and several low ranking numbers. We want Clare to head up there and all will be forgiven. As for you Christopher, you have been ordered to return but I doubt that you will or that if you did you would escape again so I will ask you to go with Clare and fight in the north as well." Rubel then turned to leave before seeming to remember something "Oh by the way. That boy you are looking for. He was caught by slave traders and taken to the north."

Clare seemed shocked but before she could speak Rubel continued "Now don't go thinking that I had anything to do with it. You know how it goes; boys go to the north while girls go to the east. Because the north and east are always short on man power." With that he signaled Rafaela to stop fighting and to leave with him "I'll give you some time to decide, but just remember that we found you once, we can do it again."

"Fool. He could bring Alicia and Beth and I would still win." Christopher growled. Seeing the look in Clare's eyes they knew that they were going to be heading to the north. After several days of travel they finally reached the town of Pieta, the border town. As they entered Clare made a comment that Jean didn't have to follow.

"There would be no point in going back to the organization only to be sent back here." Jean said. Then out of nowhere Helen attacked Clare.

"HyaHahahaha. So you're still alive! It's been awhile Clare!" she shouted.

"Idiot." Christopher muttered. Suddenly Jean attacked in defense of Clare causing Helen to leap away and Deneve to step in and tell her to back off of the greeting between two friends. Twisting her arm Jean struck and forced Deneve to leap back.

"How undignified for a greeting. Even between old friends, something like that requires gratitude." Jean countered.

"Hehe. What's this Clare? You team up with some stuck up bitch again. Oy, What's your number? Let me tell you though, I'm number 22 and she's number 15. So let's hear it." Helen barked.

"My name is Jean and I am ranked number 9" Jean said coolly. Helen looked dumbstruck and Deneve had surprise shining in her eyes.

"What the hell, that's a single digit." Helen began.

"Congrats. You can count." Christopher sighed.

"Why does it look like you're treating her like a higher up?" Helen exclaimed, ignoring his comment.

"She saved my life. Therefore it is hers right now." Jean said.

"I see but let me tell you, she is number 47! That's dead last…dead last!! A single digit serving miss dead last… what the hell?" Helen ranted.

"I had my life saved by Clare. In what way are ranks relevant to that?" Jean countered. With a grin Deneve sheathed her blade

"I see. I thought that all single digits were impossible to get along with… apparently that is not the case. I am Deneve number 15. Sorry for that just now. But Helen had no ill intentions; please believe that much."

"No I overstepped my bounds as well. Those weren't words to be said to friends who fought side by side. Forgive me." Jean said, as they all looked to Helen. After looking at each one of them she finally said "I'm Helen, number 22. Sorry for acting up like that. Oh boy now I feel really awkward."

"You're just a natural born troublemaker." Deneve replied. Then a claymore walked into the middle of the square and said "Please everyone, assemble. There will be a synoptical explanation for this operation now. My name is Flora. I am the organizations number 8."

"Hoo… So that's number 8. You don't see several single digits at once everyday…" Helen trailed off.

"If there are two or more single digits then the higher ranking one is in charge correct?" Christopher asked.

"Correct, but there is someone higher ranking than me." Flora said. Then from out in the wasteland to the north walked out one of the greatest warriors, Phantom Miria.

"Miria!" Helen exclaimed.

"It's been awhile. So we actually able to meet again alive." She said. People began muttering about her, so Christopher took that as his signal to walk up with Flora and Miria.

"Good to see you're alive Miria." He grinned as he walked to her left side.

"And who might you be?" Flora asked, seeming somewhat worried.

"My name is Christopher the unconquerable, number 0" he said giving her his calmest face.

"A male. I thought that you all had awoken?"

"No. I'm the last." He said. Miria then began to explain the mission and why they were all here. After a short interruption by some panicked low ranked warriors another warrior barked "Our duty is to kick yoma ass, any time any place. Someone who looks at the enemy and gets scared is just too damn useless." She said.

"Who is she?" Christopher asked.

"Number 11 Undine. The self proclaimed strongest of us, even got special permission to use a second claymore." Miria said softly.

"Which makes you useless to me Undine." Christopher barked.

"What was that?!" she roared.

"You heard me. You call yourself the strongest, but to me you are the weakest here," he growled as he let his youki out enough to make a point that she was clearly outclassed "When you can face an abyssal one and come back alive then come say you're the strongest." During all of this other arguments began to take place, including one between Deneve and Undine.

"You had to egg her on didn't you?" Miria asked.

"Yes. Her overconfidence will be her downfall." He sighed as Flora got the attention back by using some attack that cleared away all of the snow near her.

"Please be silent. Miria has not finished speaking yet. For those of you that don't think that you can, I will deal with you personally." Flora said calmly enough where it made even Christopher shudder.

"Number 9 Jean, number 11 Undine, and number 13 Veronica, please come forward." She said. Once they had come to the group of them did she continue "Each of us six and lower will be a commanding officer. There are 24 of us so we will now form five teams with us five as the leaders. Each team's strength will range between four to five people. In other words: the same organization used in awakened being hunts." Miria then addressed the entire group "I will now separate you into teams. The assigning will be conducted havening an optimal degree of our battle potential's in mind as a goal. There will be no objections. Number 14 Cynthia: Number 13 Veronica's team. Number 15 Deneve: Number 11 Undine's team. Number 17 Eliza: Number 9 Jean's team. Number 18 Lily: Number 8 Flora's team. Number 20 Cuniee: Miria team. Number 22 Helen: Veronica team. Number 24 Zeruda: Undine team. Number 27 Amelia: Jean team. Number 30 Wendy: Flora team. Number 31 Tabatha: Miria team. Number 35 Pamela: Veronica team. Number 36 Claudia: Undine team. Number 37 Natalie: Jean team. Number 39 Carla: Flora team. Number 40 Yuma: Miria team. Number 41 Matilda: Veronica team. Number 43 Juliana: Undine team. Number 44 Diana: Jean team. Number 47 Clare: Flora team. Is there any one that does not have a team?"

"What about her?" one asked pointing at Christopher, who could hear Helen stifle a laugh.

"I am a man. Not a woman." Christopher said, restraining himself.

"What?!" was the collective sound throughout the square.

"Allow me to explain. This is Christopher the unconquerable rank 0. He is the last of the male generation that retains humanity. He was sent here to help us fight off the awakened ones. Especially since he knew most of them before they became monsters. He will be acting on his own, assisting teams that are in trouble or facing against the yoma by himself." Miria explained.

"He can't be that strong." Undine scoffed. Reaching over his left shoulder he drew his blade and swung it into the air while releasing yoma power.

"Five, four, three, two, one." He counted down. Then an awakened being fell from the sky, body severed in two "Anything else?" When no one answered he faced Miria and let her tell the teams to get to know each other because they would not know when they would be fighting. Christopher then went to the edge of the village and swung his blade out there into the wasteland, hoping that by some change he would kill Isley with it.

That night Christopher snuck out to the cave that they had agreed to meet at. Once there, touching blades and explaining what had happened with Clare and Jean did they get down to the real matter.

"What do you think the odds of the success of this mission?" Clare asked.

"Our chances are zero." Miria said, shocking them all "If this were a regular group of awakened beings then we might stand a chance, but the one who is pushing this is the one reason that no matter what clever tactics we come up with we will lose." Miria said, turning to Christopher "You knew the silver king back before he turned, what can you tell us."

"Where to begin. Isley was a genius to say the least. A powerful swordsman who kept the rest of us numbers in check. In his human form he is quick, agile, and lethal to say the least. In his awakened state he is a force to be reckoned with. He turns into a centaur like creature and his hands change into a variety of weapons, so that countering him is very difficult. I only survived by the skin on my teeth when he awoke. If we have to fight against him then we don't stand a chance. The only hope would be for me to awaken and somehow maintain my sanity. At my level I know I couldn't beat him." Christopher explained.

"Then what is the organization thinking?" Helen shouted.

"We are simply a road block." He said "They well know that they can't beat them here so we are sent here to buy as much time as they can so that they will be ready for when we fall. They feel like you woman are expendable and they have already sent all of the ones they deem problem cases. We are simply meant to take out as many as we can. Am I right Miria?"

"Yes. That is my conclusion as well. Once we fall then the organization will launch it's counterattack against them." She agreed. With that they fell into silence when Christopher suddenly felt yoma energy.

"We have company!" he said as he grabbed his sword "I'm counting four of them."

"Let's hurry back," Miria agreed as they ran her and Christopher in the lead.

"You realize that many will die." He pointed out.

"I know."

"Well let me know if you need to talk. Being a leader can be a tough role." He said as they ran for the village and the awakened beings that were heading straight there.


	5. Chapter 5

_AN* see previous chapters for disclaimer. Well after a long break I have finally finished this chapter, so let the comments flow. I will post the next chapter once I am caught up with school and the other stories i am working on. So please R&R._

_Blood on Snow_

The six of them arrived quickly, mere seconds before the awakened ones did. Miria's team targeted one, Jean's another and Flora the next with the other two teams on standby. Christopher then went straight for the 4th one that was near the back of the village, apparently not wanting to fight but watch and report back to its master.

"Die." He growled as he struck, nicking the face of the human looking creature.

"Well, well, well. Some foolish woman thinks that she can take an awakened being by herself. What rank are you missy?" he asked, his grin lecherous.

"The fact you have already made this much of a mistake already spells your doom. First the rank is 0, I am the strongest warrior, second, is the fact you can't tell gender apart." He fumed as he unleashed his yoma energy at 5%. Already outclassing his opponent the monster chose to fully awaken which gave Christopher all of the time that he needed. Using the Wind fang he chopped off one of his right arm and left leg, leaving him to lie in the snow.

"Now tell me about this woman of Isley's" he demanded, aiming to take off his head in one shoot.

"Why should I?" it grunted. Grinning like a wolf he took his blade and cut off his last two limbs. He then ran the sword into his opponents heart and began to twist the blade.

"If you want the pain to stop then I suggest that you talk." Christopher grinned. After twisting the blade a few times the awakened one finally talked.

"ALRIGHT! She arrived one day and started killing off entire villages, so Isley went to fight and kill her. However she actually beat him, even at full power. So now Isley plans on taking her south so she can go home."

"Isley isn't the one in charge?" he muttered. With that he chopped off the awakened ones head and returned to the village.

He arrived to see that the rest of the claymores had dealt with the other three awakened beings, and to hear Miria say that now everyone had experience fighting an awakened being.

'Bad move Miria. You just showed them how bad things are going to be here.' He shook his head as Undine stormed off to go get a new uniform. He then approached Miria and said "That was not well played. Now they are going to lose hope."

"They needed to hear it, I will not give them a false hope." She countered. With that she walked off, lost deep in thought.

The rest of the day passed without event however they all knew an attack was coming. Christopher was restless, knowing that he would be fighting former comrades, maybe even Isley himself. Not knowing what to do he tracked down Miria in her quarters, to apologize for earlier today and to see if she had thought up a plan to try and save their skins. He knocked softly on her door and entered to see her changing clothes behind a screen, her body silhouetted behind it.

"Yes Christopher?" she asked, still changing.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Your yoma energy is faint but it has a pureness that ours doesn't. So what can I do for you?"

"I came to apologize for what I said earlier. I was out of line." He said, his head bowed.

"No. You had every right to say those things. You have always spoke your mind with me and I appreciate that." She said as she finished changing "Is there anything else?"

"Yes. I was wondering if you had found a way to try and save the lives of all of these women."

"I have a plan, but there is no guarantee that it will work, or that all of us will survive." She then walked out from behind the screen, wearing a fresh uniform. His eyes wandered from her face and took in her stunning body, and thoughts that he had never had before entered his mind, thoughts of taking her onto the bed and fucking her until she screamed. As he battled his inner thoughts he forced his eyes back to her face, seeing her smirking.

"You like what you see?" she asked coyly. Licking his lips he nodded "Then why don't you take it?" she asked her smirk growing.

"It would not be appropriate at this time. What if there was an attack?" His common sense said, before his instincts could take over.

Laughing softly she looked at him "So your thoughts are not completely clouded. That is good, for a minute I thought that you would give in to your desires."

"No. That is the reason I am still unawakened, because I can resist the urge to satisfy myself." He said "Now if you will excuse me I will go and take my watch for the night." As he turned to leave she grabbed his arm.

"Don't think that I did this to test you. If we survive this battle I would like to see what you have under that uniform." She grinned. Leaning towards her he gently kissed her and left, standing out in the frigid weather, hoping that they all somehow survived this suicide mission.

Once dawn came Miria called all of them into a building to explain her plan. On the table in front of her were the yoma suppressant pills that the organization had created. Drawing her claymore she cut one in half and held it up.

"We are each going to take one of these before we go into battle. They will not do anything until you lose consciousness, then they will surpress your energy, so that the enemy will think you are dead. This battle is no longer about winning, it is about survival." Miria explained.

"I like it!" Undine roared "This is a perfectly fair way to ensure that some of us survive this battle. No favoritism."

"I agree." Christopher said "This will be our best chance of survival. However, I feel I should warn you know. Isley will throw all he has at us now that we have killed his scouts from yesterday. Do not take any opponent lightly, and do not engage the lion, or the centaur."

"Why not those two?" Helen asked.

"Those were the former numbers 1 and 2. Isley is the centaur though I doubt he will be present in this battle. The other is Rigald, and he is one of the most dangerous foes that you can face. Once he releases he goes into a frenzy and will not stop fighting until all of his prey is dead. If you see either of them, run like no tomorrow. If Rigald shows up I think I could deal with him, but if Isley appears then we might as well knock ourselves out because we are as good as dead." Christopher explained. With that each of the warriors took their half of the pill and waited until someone said that they sensed the awakened ones approaching.

Spreading out throughout the town they prepared to fight. As the enemy attacked the weaker warriors lured the awakened beings to the stronger ones and let them kill them. Christopher struck from the flanks, luring the awakened ones away from the others or stopping ambushes. As they fought he sensed one awakening that he knew would be trouble.

"Rigald." He cursed. Sprinting across the village he found that all of the commanders except Miria had fallen and Clare, Helen, and Deneve were protecting her. "Wind Fang." He growled as the slash nicked Rigald's neck. Turning and seeing him he looked confused but then focused on Miria. After knocking away Clare and the others, and managing to wound Deneve to a shocking extent Miria started to fight. Unfortunately her body could not maintain her mirages and was eventually caught by his extending claws. Striking again, this time close range he managed to move him away from Miria.

"Those movements and this energy. It has been a long time, Christopher." Rigald grinned.

"Happy you remember me. You are the third former comrade that I have seen in less than six months." He said as he dodged his claws.

"Really who else have you seen?"

"Duph and Jacob. Jacob is dead and Duph is working for Riful of the west." He replied as he cut off one of the claws that was sent at him. Then Rigald picked up speed and was about to kill him when suddenly his arm fell to the snow covered ground several feet away.

"Didn't see that coming." Christopher said, clearly shocked. They both turned to see Clare standing with only her legs awakened "And that explains your missing arm."

"Only awakening her legs. That is pretty skillful." Rigald noted. Clare then charged at him again, nicking his leg as he leapt into the air. As Rigald prepared to kill Miria with his remaining hands claws Clare leapt from the building, attacking him, while forcing him to go after his arm. Right before he got to it though Helen leapt down and stabbed it gloating about how he wouldn't be getting his arm back. Clare struck while his back was turned but he moved behind her, forcing her to use her insane speed to dodge and move a good distance behind him.

"I see. So you cannot even keep up with your insane acceleration." Rigald said as Clare charged at him. Taking one step backwards and watching as she crashed into a building he continued "Once you start moving, minor adjustments are impossible. If I move just a little, you are completely you are completely unable to deal with the movement and are unable to break. And an unnatural awakening. There will definitely be an equal price to pay later." He said. Clare rose out of the rubble, starting to look more like a yoma. As the battle continued Clare made both of her arms awaken to kill Rigald, however she was close to fully awakening herself.

"Helen kill me now." Clare begged as she tried to restrain herself. Before Helen could Jean, who had somehow survived, stopped her and approached Clare, aligning their yoma energies Clare returned to normal but killed Jean in the process. As they stood Christopher sensed the energy of only seven of the warriors including him.

"Well it looks like this is the end." He said to Miria.

"Yes. It is time for the flashy showdown." Miria nodded.

"Then I guess I should go wild. Tell everyone to stay away from me. I am going to release 10% of my energy." He said as walked towards the awakened beings "I hope you all will remember this, because I guarantee that at least 5 of those monsters will fall before I do." Then releasing enough power for is eyes to change color he struck. Moving faster than they could follow and unleashing the Wind Fang on many of the awakened beings, he killed 5 before they started to gain up on him. Dodging limbs he slashed his way to the edge of the town to see that reinforcements for the awakened ones were on the way.

"Well this is the end. Time to show Isley that I will not go down quietly." He grinned as he released 25% of his energy. With the sudden burst, all of the fighters in the area stopped for a brief moment to see the column of energy that marked the strongest of all was prepared to fight. Swinging his blade with the Wind Fang roaring off of it, he struck one last time before five awakened beings stabbed him, causing him to lose consciousness.

Christopher was the last to awaken from his slumber to see that seven other warriors had survived.

"Eight out of twenty five. 32% of us survived, much better than I had hoped." Christopher said as he approached "Now what?"

"We live. Surpress our yoma energy and train. Become stronger so that one day we can return to the south and claim our revenge." Miria said.

"Well I already have several years on all of you with suppressing my yoma energy. I have to start from scratch again but I should be able to regain all of my old strength before we decide to leave." He sighed, sheathing the blade "As for training, I think I may have some ideas on what I need to work on, Clare I hope you will accompany me on this training, it could help improve your quick sword."

With that the remaining eight turned to the mountains where they began to become a new nightmare for the organization.


	6. Chapter 6

_AN* See previous chapters for disclaimer_

_A New Beginning_

It had been months since they had faced the horde of awakened beings and they were all beginning to train to grow to a new level of strength. Most days that went by Christopher and Clare went off into the snow swept fields to battle in simple swordsmanship, slowly learning new tricks. Each of the eight survivors were focusing on learning anything that they thought would be useful from attacks to long range yoma detection without using youki.

"Keep your shoulder up." He said as he struck at Clare's side. This was their third sparring session that day, with Clare starting to learn to use Flora's signature attack, the wind cutter, to replace the quick sword that always required youki to function. By the end of their session Clare felt no closer to mastering the technique then when she had started.

"You worry too much." Christopher grinned "You have made astounding progress." They then returned to the cave that was their home. Each of them had changed out of the old uniform in favor of a new black leather outfit with black full body cloaks. Christopher's was more interesting in many of their eyes. He had gone into a town and raided an armory and retuned wearing the black leather shirt that they had found but now with the sleeves missing and black gauntlets on his arms. His black pants now also had black armor on them and around his chest were straps of throwing knives.

"Why did you take all of this?" Miria had asked as she tried to not ogle him.

"Well it's not doing anyone any good just lying in an abandoned armory so I thought that I could use it. The armor is great quality and could easily deflect a claymore, and as for the knives, there are always situations that require stealth so why not attack from a distance. With our increased strength imagine what would happen if one of those went flying through a yoma." Christopher explained as the seven women all stared at what was soon to become a god of war in the eyes of the organization.

It had been a month since then and he had added more knives to the straps around his chest and had trimmed his silver hair so that it was shorter than it had been and was now in short spikes, which Helen often joked saying that they were icicles growing upside down from his head.

"Evening ladies." He said as he went to his usual rock, grabbing a roll to sate his hunger.

"Welcome back." Deneve said as she set aside her two claymores, one that she had taken from Undine's dead body.

"Where is Miria?" Christopher asked as he looked about the cave.

"Still out training. She wants to perfect that new mirage." Helen said.

"Really? Well then I should go get her." Christopher said as he grabbed his sword and walked out of the cave. Climbing to a higher portion of the mountain he saw her trying to move with a speed that was close to what she used to have. He watched her for a few moments until he snuck up behind her and wrapped her in a hug.

"You work too hard." He whispered into her ear.

"You don't work hard enough." She said as she attacked him. Rolling to the side to avoid the kick that was aimed at his manhood, he watched as she tried out her new mirage but could only move so far. Drawing his blade he faced her and bowing let her take the first strike. Moving with as much grace as she could, she attacked him, while trying to use her new mirages. Christopher simply dodged the attacks until he decided to show her what he had learned over these few months. Taking a back stance (for those of you that have no idea what that is your back leg is bent while the front one is as straight as possible) he placed the blade so that it was lying between his forearm and bicep. Moving forward with one motion he pulled the blade out, drawing blood, and swung it at Miria. However she didn't block it as it was too far off, or so she thought as the front of her uniform began to split open.

"How?" she asked.

"A new attack I've been working on. By using my blood I swing the sword forward with all of my strength turning the blood on the blade into an extension of my sword and allowing me to attack from greater distances. I call it Crimson Slash." Christopher explained as he began applying pressure to the wound.

"Seems like a risky attack." Miria stated.

"It is, but with the proper timing it can be lethal." He grinned as they walked back to the cave so that Cynthia could apply some first aid to his arm.

The next day Christopher and Miria went to Pieta to gather some more supplies before they were scavenged. As they entered warehouses to search for any remaining supplies they found only old boxes filled with nothing of any use. Eventually they came up to the building that Miria had been using as the command center before they had faked their deaths.

"Feel like reminiscing?" Christopher asked as he headed for the building. Smiling coyly they entered the building to explore each other more thoroughly.

AN* Don't kill me now for this crappy chapter ending! I felt that this chapter should be more focused on their training then going into lemonz. I promise next chapter i wont jerk you around like this. Though i may do this again in the future who knows ^_^.


	7. Chapter 7

_AN* I do not own Claymore._

_Ok, first thing is that there is some serious lemonz in this chapter. So if you are under 18 or don't feel comfortable reading this then don't read it. Second, for those of you that do read this chapter i will say that this is my first lemonz so don't go insane on me with this. so R&R and will update again soon as possible._

_Bodies Intertwining_

Christopher walked up to the bedroom, his body shuddering with anticipation. As he entered the room he tossed took off his sword and knives laying them on a table on the opposite side of the room, while beginning to remove the gauntlets as Miria walked in. Her breathing quickening she moved behind him and began to plant soft, seductive kisses up his neck.

"How bad do you want it?" she whispered before her tongue lightly brushed over his ear.

"More than anything else." Christopher said, his voice taking a gruffer tone.

Turing around, he met her lips, passionately kissing her with wild abandon. Picking her up without breaking the kissing and carried her to the bed. Laying her down gently he let his hands roam her body as she moaned with ecstasy. Working his hands he began to remove her leather clothing so his hands would have an unobstructed feel of her soft flesh. Moaning loudly through his mouth she let her hands begin to remove his shirt that she felt was blocking him from her. Once she removed the shirt she turned her roving hands to his pants and began to slowly remove them as he began massaging her breasts, causing waves of pleasure to rush through her. Once the offending garments had been removed Christopher separated himself from her lips and lowered his head in between her legs and with a nod from her he began to lap the juices that were beginning to flow from her. Relishing the taste his tongue moved in long strokes causing her to moan loudly as the pleasure multiplied to the point she was about ready to orgasm.

"Christopher. I'm… about to … come." She panted as his tongue continued the job, with the only sign of acknowledging this was in increase in speed. This was the final push as her muscles tightened and with pure bliss a tidal wave of juices flooded out of her. Licking her vagina clean he pulled himself away.

"You taste delicious my love." He whispered.

"Then allow me to take a taste of you." She grinned as she rolled him over grabbing his hard 9 inch dick and giving tentative licks to it, causing him to groan in pleasure. Once she tired of that she opened her mouth and placed the whole thing in her mouth, bobbing her head as she felt him writhing from the sensation. Increasing her speed she could feel him resisting the urge to ejaculate into her mouth.

"Don't hold back. I want to taste your come." She begged as she resumed her work. This drove him over the edge as his seed gushed into her mouth, and she swallowed it and continued to lick his dick, wanting more of his seed.

"You taste divine." She praised as she grabbed his dick and moved it to her wet vagina "I want you inside me."

"What do you say first?" Christopher grinned, enjoying the one time he had control over this divine woman.

"Please. Please shove your wonderfully hard dick into me." She begged. Not wasting a second he speared her and heard her scream as he shoved his dick all the way into her. In and out, he continued as she panted from the pleasure. Soon she took control riding his dick shoving her hips up and down. Reaching up he grabbed her nipples and began rubbing them in between his thumb and forefinger, increasing her cries of pleasure. Both of them feeling that they were reaching the climax began synchronizing the thrusting of their hips until they both cried in ecstasy as they came together. Pulling herself off of his dick she laid down next to him, completely exhausted.

"That was wonderful." She panted.

"Yeah. We should do this again sometime." He grinned as he leaned over and kissed her gently. Once they were dressed they finished searching the town finding some food that wouldn't spoil for some time they returned to the cave both acting as though nothing had changed between them.


	8. Chapter 8

_An* I do not own Claymore in any way._

_All right, I feel that I should warn you all now. I am reaching the point where i am almost caught up with the story itself, so i will be updating less often on this story. I am sorry for the inconvience._

_Seven Years_

It had been seven years since the battle in Pieta and all of them had grown stronger. They could all sense youki without unleashing their own and each had learned new attacks that didn't require the youki. It was on this day that Christopher returned from a scouting trip to find that three awakened beings were dead and three claymores were unconscious. Moving quietly he saw the fourth one, who still had color in her hair had found the grave site and was counting the claymores one by one.

'Shit. Not good.' He thought as he leapt to the higher peak where he sensed Miria, Deneve and Helen. Standing next to them he noticed that Tabatha and Cynthia were climbing back up from healing the three warriors down below, but Clare and Yuma were missing.

"Where did Clare and Yuma go?" Christopher asked.

"I sent Yuma with Clare. She is out searching another town." Deneve said as they watched the claymore down below.

"Still looking for that boy? Well I can't say I blame her. If someone that close to me disappeared I would search for them too." Christopher said as he gave a sideways glance at Miria. They waited until the four warriors left and then returned to the cave to wait for Clare and Yuma. That evening the two returned and Clare said that she was leaving.

"WHAT?! You want to leave Pieta and head south??! What the hell is wrong with you?! Do you want to become the organizations target?!" Helen raged.

"I don't know whether Raki is still in the northern land. On the contrary, he should be thinking that, I didn't know he was taken to the north in the first place. It's hard to think Raki stayed in the northern lands all of these seven years. If he is still alive he has gone south." Clare replied.

"Huh?! Still this crap?!" Helen shouted.

"Clare… I'm sorry but I'll be blunt here: That kid is most likely…" Deneve began as Miria silenced her with a move of her hand.

"Certainly, we left Pieta suppressing out youki with the pills. That's why we have no way of knowing, whether human or yoma passed through there after that. But that probability is very low. Tell me what evidence you base this belief on." Miria said. Christopher leaned forward, looking forward to the explanation.

"I found traces of Raki in one of the northern towns. A dungeon." Clare began, surprising all but Yuma who had been there with her "But the keys were untouched. Probably because they couldn't look for the keys before trying to escape… or they just abandoned him. Anyways Raki broke down part of the wall with his own strength and escaped through that hole. But doing that all by himself must have taken more than one or two days. But that was actually his luck. Those that hurried to the surface when the awakened beings attacked, became their prey. After escaping the dungeon Raki sees the already ruined town. It is a scenery of desperation, but he takes heart and finds human food. If he managed to arrange some equipment as well, surviving shouldn't have been that difficult. Next if he could get his hands on a horse, or some allies, possibly both…"

"Don't rely on your persuasive powers here. That is a frail and foolish way of thinking." Miria interrupted "Take up your sword, Clare." Christopher grinned as he followed the two outside and prepared to see the fruits of the twos training. He watched as the two clashed with all of their power to the point that it was a standstill. Once they finished Miria asked what was on her mind.

"Let me ask one thing: Are you only going south to look for that boy Raki?"

"Nah. I planned to do this eventually, this thing with Raki is just an occasion."

"Then what about your other reasons for going south?"

"I have no intention of naming them. Just this: I have a lot of unfinished business in the south. The many souls inside me will not forgive the time I have spent here in peace." Miria then sheathed her blade.

"Very well. If you have that level of skill you shouldn't be outdone, even by high ranking single digits." Miria said to Clare before looking at the rest who had been watching the fight "Sorry but as of now I resign as your commanding officer. Each of you is free to do as they wish."

"Wha?" Helen gasped.

"I will go south with her, and together with her I will exact revenge for our fallen comrades." Miria said "No need to worry. You all have grown strong in these last seven years. And there should be no need to worry that the organization will chase you as long as you are here, in the north." Then Helen unleashed Jeans Tornado Sword on a nearby rock.

"Oi, Oi, Miria. Aren't you acting a little stuck up there? You aren't the only one out for revenge." Helen grinned savagely.

"Helen…" Miria began.

"Really now… What do you think we have been training until we threw up blood these last seven years? Seems a little excessive to hide in the north and stay alive." Deneve replied.

"Deneve…"

"I… I want to come too. I want revenge as well, for Veronica and the others." Cynthia stammered.

"My commander has always been you. Where ever you go, I will as well." Tabatha said.

"Cynthia… Tabatha…"

"Please take me along as well." Yuma said "I know I will be a drag, but I don't want it to end like this either. When push comes to shove… you can throw me away any time. So please…"

"Yuma…"

"Don't think I am letting you ladies have all the fun. Besides, what self respecting man would leave seven beautiful women to wander the land by themselves." Christopher grinned.

"The battles objective this time won't be surviving, like it was seven years ago. You could even say that this battle will go against the very ideal about survival. It should be even harder than the one seven years ago. We fought hard for these lives, and there is no one here that will blame you, if you choose to stay here. What if the warriors who lost their lives wished for you to live like this? Would that still not change your mind?" Miria asked looking at each one of their unwavering faces "I see… We all feel the same. Alright then let's go, joined by our comrades spirits in Pieta." They all then left the mountains heading across the frozen lands and back to the green lands of the south, that they all called home.


	9. Chapter 9

_AN* I do not own Claymore, yadda yadda yadda, you all know the drill, R&R._

_Information_

It took several days before they finally arrived in the green lands that they all had grown up in. Christopher was on edge, feeling for any threat even though Tabatha said that she sensed nothing near them. By their fourth day of travelling they stopped on a cliff while Tabatha sensed any yoma energy around them, reporting that she sensed 12 claymores, at least two of them being single digits, but no awakened beings or abyssal ones were in her senses.

"I see… So the organization hasn't changed much." Miria noted.

"What happened to those awakened beings seven years ago anyway? They should have been too much for the organization to handle…"Helen asked giving them all something to worry about.

"WAIT!!" Tabatha exclaimed "Just now, a huge yoma aura has suddenly…" Soon they all felt the power and Christopher tensed.

"Th…This is…" Clare stammered.

"A big source of yoma energy is closing in on the hunting team…it's fast…and simply enormous!" Tabatha reported.

"No kidding! What is that?! It's impossibly huge!" Helen exclaimed.

"Riful." Christopher and Clare said together.

"Riful of the west?! One of the three big ones?! This isn't funny! We just escaped the north and now we run into someone like this?! Helen cried out.

"This is… an abyssal one?" Miria asked looking at Christopher.

"Not even close. Riful is just toying with them." He grunted.

"One of the single digits has drawn their sword and assumed a stance. She intends to fight." Tabatha reported.

"Idiot. She doesn't stand a chance." Christopher growled. They waited a few moments as Tabatha reported that they had managed to wound her.

"Wow. Those two are more than a match for an abyssal one." Yuma whispered.

"Helen! Deneve! Clare! Christopher!" Miria said as she threw a suppressant pill to each of the ladies "We are going to save them!" With that the five of them leapt from the cliff and made their way towards the battle.

"You ladies rescue the Claymores, Once Riful gets mad I'll entertain her." Christopher said as they approached. They arrived to see that the two single digits had been defeated and one was being tortured.

"Not good. Clare, Deneve, take the low rankers. Helen and I will rescue those two." Miria ordered as Christopher moved behind Riful, taking out one of his throwing knives. Once Miria and Helen had grabbed the single digits and stopped for a brief moment Miria gave the order for them to retreat, but Clare stayed.

"There is something I want to ask you. Riful of the west." Clare said staring down the towering abyssal one.

"Ah! Oh that's right, now I remember. You fought Duph seven years ago…you're one of the three from that time. That sure takes me back… I'm glad to see you are alive. How are the other two and Christopher? I'm especially interested in the one with the long hair."

"There is no need to answer that."

"Gosh, that's quite the greeting. I wonder if that is the attitude of someone who is asking a favor."

"… One died, the one with long hair I haven't seen, and I don't know about Christopher."

'Thank you for staying quiet.' Christopher thought as he watched.

"Oh, how regrettable. She was such a good girl. So what did you want to ask me?"

"Seven years ago, a large number of awakened beings should have come to these lands from the north. I want to know the status quo, of those who must have had to fight these awakened beings, namely you abyssal ones, and the organization."

"Ahahahah. So that's what this is about. You hid yourself for those seven years, cut off from all contact with the rest of the world. That you could erase your auras is also the result of time. And judging from your way of speaking, the place you hid was the northern lands, where seven years ago you clashed with the awakened beings of the north, and by some means produced a staged annihilation, thus feigning death, is that it?" After a brief pause Riful continued "Well I won't ask any questions, this is all in the distant past anyway. I can tell you all about the situation, but there is one condition."

"A condition?"

"You become my ally. I would have preferred that girl with long hair from that time, but if I remember correctly reading yoma energy was your forte too. I really want a girl who excels at reading yoma energy, and if you join me I will spare those two claymores from before and your comrades. And I already told you, the quickest way to revenge is to become my ally. These really aren't bad conditions."

"Alright, I'll consider it." This gave Christopher a moment to grin, already knowing what Clare would do.

"The smart choice. Alright, then I will tell you. There were 23 of Isley's subordinates who advanced seven years ago. Out of them 11 went east, and 12 went west… Isley himself headed straight south to fight over those lands with the abyssal one on of the south. Isley was victorious and claimed the south. Incidentally the awakened beings that he sent east and west were mere cannon fodder. They were obliterated in both directions without a single one remaining."

"What?! Impossible! I understand about the west but how did the organization…" Clare exclaimed.

"Oh? You didn't know? The organization has no over sights. Unnoticed by us they have created a Claymore strong enough to oppose the abyssal ones. In a way you could call it a new abyssal one. So even if Luciela did die, there really are still three of us."

"The battle between Isley and the abyssal one of the south. Didn't you think of taking that opportunity of taking Isley's head?"

"Pretty sharp. Of course I went there, a battle between abyssal ones… indeed even the victor Isley was close to death. It's not like I had any particular grudge against the man… but it was a once in a lifetime chance. Especially because he had been acting rather capricious towards us, it would have its merits. No matter how many small fry awakened beings he sent, it turned out the same, so Luciela and I both underestimated him. Because the battle with Luciela had dragged on longer than expected, I was able to stand before Isley in its immediate aftermath. And then I met that 'thing'" Riful said. She then told her about meeting Priscilla and how much stronger she was then any of the abyssal ones.

"That Isley utterly defeated that woman was a lie after all. Understanding that he couldn't win this fight he submitted to her as a general. That's how it happened. But that version was covered up. If there was even a chance to defeat that woman, it would have been a power that surpasses those called abyssal ones. In other words: there was no way but for me and Luciela to team up and defeat her. Anticipating this, Isley made the first move. And before we knew that woman's true power, he crushed that little chance. And as expected I can't join hands with the organization either. It really looks like that man has completely fallen for her at this point. For now the two have kept quiet in the south but they have the power to seize control over all of the lands whenever they feel like it. And right now we have no way to prevent it. That's why I am currently working hard to scout for talents that might be even a little capable. So? Do you understand?"

"I don't." Clare said bluntly, hoping to get some more information from her "From yours or theirs perspective, my powers must be completely insignificant. Why do you want me?"

This got a grin out of Riful, enough of one that it made Christopher shiver "I told you: What I want is someone that excels at reading yoma energy. It's not like I'm telling you to fight here… I have found something interesting. If all goes well, with it I could overcome this disadvantage…and even if I can't gain the upper hand at least even out the balance of powers. But as things are I can't put it to good use. That's where you come in. A claymore that excels at reading yoma energy, in other words a warrior that can manipulate yoma energy, even a little. That's why I would be happy if you became my ally. Let's do our best together from now on."

"Don't misunderstand. I told you I would consider it, I never said I would definitely become your ally."

"Oh I see. Well then make your decision then. Your answer should already be decided though."

"I've been thinking about this the whole time now and I guess it won't be possible. Give it up." Clare replied.

"That's what I thought you would say. Your personality has taken a turn for the worse in the time we haven't met. Or maybe it was like this all along."

"Probably all along. I appreciate the information though."

"I can just cut off your arms and legs, and just keep the parts I need, you know."

"That won't be possible either. I've grown stronger than you think in these last seven years."

"Oh? In those seven years, strong enough to defeat me?"

Taking that as his cue he hurled the knife with all of his enhanced strength and watched as it shot through Riful's neck.

"No but I can." Christopher remarked as he tapped the back of her head with his blade. Not missing a beat Clare made a break for it while Christopher played with Riful.

"Christopher? Is that you?" she asked as he dodged her attacks once he had leapt off of her.

"The one and only." He smiled as he moved to the edge of the clearing.

"So you have come to be my ally at last?"

"Sorry Riful but no. I'm just here to make sure that those four escaped. Now that they have I'll be leaving as well." Christopher smiled as he took a back stance and prepared to use the Crimson Slash. Waiting for her to prepare to launch her next attack he moved aside the slit in his gauntlet and struck, the red extension launching out across her eyes, blinding her for a brief moment while he made his escape listening to her destroy the forest trying to stop him.

He reached the cliff he saw Miria motioning for them to leave. Joining in with them they continued to head south with all of the ladies lost in their own thoughts.


	10. Chapter 10

_AN* sorry for the delay but I have been feeling uninspired for this story so expect later updates. I will update whenever I can._

_The Holy City_

They travelled for aimlessly for several days until they Christopher finally asked the question.

"So where are we heading?" He asked as they sat around a fire one night.

"I don't know." Miria finally answered.

"Well going to the organization right away would be suicide. We should take this time to at least prepare ourselves for whatever is to come." Christopher noted.

"True." Deneve agreed. As they sat Clare finally spoke up.

"I would like to retrace the steps of my journey from the last time I saw Raki. It would be the most logical thing to do." Clare remarked.

"Well let's put it to a vote." Miria said.

"I say we do it." Helen remarked.

"Why not." Deneve remarked.

"Ok." Cynthia sighed.

"It's fine by me." Tabatha agreed.

"It's ok." Yuma nodded.

"Better than wandering around aimlessly." Christopher pointed out.

"Then it's settled. Lead on Clare." Miria replied. For the next two months they retraced the path that Clare had walked until they finally arrived at the one place that shunned their kind more than anywhere else, the holy city of Labona. As they arrived they saw an awakened being attacking the city.

"Looks like it is show time." Christopher grinned as all of them except Clare pulled up their hoods and leapt into the city with Clare destroying one of the eight legs that the creature was using to stand on.

"A town that I have links to will not be destroyed this easily." Clare said.

"Who are you?" the awakened being asked.

"You do not need to know. For you will die here." Clare replied.

"I'll die? Just when I'm still thinking about how you all appeared so suddenly you start with the silly jokes already…" the woman remarked.

"Those leg like things support your huge body. There's eight in all. I've already destroyed one so that leaves seven. A nice number, first of all I'll have you drop to the ground." Clare said as the rest of them leapt off the rooftops and each of them targeted a leg while dodging the tendrils that she shot at them. With a deafening boom the giant body that she was attached to fell to the ground. Once Miria rescued Galatea who was now blind and missing an arm they all removed the cloaks revealing who they really were to the town and the two claymores that were wounded and against a ruined area.

"Can we get to destroying the old hag yet?" Christopher asked as he swung the sword around a bit. Suddenly the red tendrils wrapped around the woman and she became huge with the flowing tendrils.

"That I'd actually fight in my original form. You're just small fries but pretty entertaining." She laughed.

"Are you shittin' me?! Her true form is this freaking huge?!" Helen shouted as she launched the tendrils from her arms at Helen forcing her to leap back "Deneve, Clare cover me! I'll hit her in the head with a tornado sword!"

"Wait! Don't be fooled! She's…" Galatea shouted.

"The real body is located within the abdomen but to prevent targeting it floats around constantly. This being her 'original form' is a lie. The awakened body is merely a façade that she envelops herself with. Her real body remains human in both size and shape. That body too is but a decoration imitating human form, her weak points are the human body's head itself and the hair that connects to the awakened body." Tabatha said.

"That's how it looks. Anything to add, God-eye Galatea?" Miria asked.

"Nothing in particular. She is absolutely correct… maybe one thing. The hair is the connection to the awakened body. So as you'd expect: if you want to take her down with one blow, aim for the real bodies heads itself." Galatea replied. Miria then started using her new mirage and cut the giant awakened being in half at the waist.

"Which part?" Miria asked.

"Upper half left chest." With that Cynthia and Yuma leapt up and tried to attack but the creature opened its mouth and sent dozens of tendrils out at the two, holding them back. Leaping into the air Deneve cut the upper body in half asking "Which part?"

"Right half, moving from the shoulder to the left arm." Tabatha reported. Helen then used a tornado sword to release the real body of the awakened being while Clare attacked from behind. However she dodged the slash and grabbed Galatea as a hostage.

"Don't move, or I'll rip her head off!" she yelled.

"You think taking a hostage will work against us?" Miria asked.

"It would not if I were against regular warriors, but judging from those outfits, that's now what it seems to be. You also mentioned how you wouldn't allow any more casualties. I was thinking that doing this might have a correlation to the amount of bullshit you spout." She said. Clare then took a step forward causing the awakened being to shout "STAY BACK! DON'T YOU CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO HER?!"

"Futile. There is simply nothing that you can do." Clare replied as Christopher took out two throwing knives.

"I see. You are the one from that time." Galatea remarked.

"It's been awhile. I'm glad we could meet again, Galatea." Clare replied.

"Warrior number 47 huh? Can you still use that move from before?"

"Of course. The power has dropped but the precision has gone up compared to before." Clare said as she sheathed her claymore and started walking forward.

"I TOLD YOU TO STOP RIGHT THERE! ARE YOU FUCKING DEAF OR SOMETHING?!" she shouted as Clare unleashed the Wind Cutter on her arm.

"I thought that the accuracy went up. You cut my hair." Galatea complained.

"I wasn't paying attention to the hair." Clare commented as Christopher got bored.

"Well as amusing as this was I'm going to end this." He yawned as he threw the two knives with all of his strength, completely destroying her head.

"That was unnecessary. I was about to kill her." Clare noted.

"You took too long." Christopher grinned as he walked over and picked up his knives "Good to see you again Galatea."

"Number 0 as well. So you both survived." Galatea laughed as Cynthia came over to help heal her wounds. Suddenly there was a splash as one of the warriors had gotten up and was facing them shaking like a leaf in a whirlwind with tears running down her face.

"What's wrong kid? You want to fight?" Helen asked.

"No. Her mission is to kill me." Galatea explained "I'm sorry about before. But since I've done what I have set up to do my life is yours." This got an unexpected result as she stabbed her claymore into the ground and started weeping.

"What is this… what is this… Why do you say that… Can't you be at least a little terrible… How can I kill you after hearing all that… Orders from the organization should be followed, the one I'm supposed to kill is right in front of me… tell me what I should do…" she wept.

"Then just don't return to the organization." Christopher said bluntly.

"Of course if you don't kill Galatea and return to the organization, that's disobeying the organizations orders, also known as treason, you'd be killed on the spot. If you said that you couldn't find Galatea or that she got away… The organization would never believe those words. Then there's one path left, and that's too not return to the organization." Miria explained.

"Bu…but if we did that…"

"Yes. At that moment, you'll become traitors and they'll come after you. If we stay here, the organization won't come after us. When all is said and done this is still the saint capitals, and it is widely known that they discriminate us Claymores." Miria continued.

"It is a temporary solution. If the organization wants to kill us they'll completely destroy this town." Galatea noted.

"I think so too. But even if it is just temporary, we have to stay." Miria remarked.

"What?" Galatea asked.

"We are here to topple the organization." Christopher grinned as he finished cleaning the knives and sheathed them on the strap.

"WHAT?!" the claymore shouted.

"Are you serious? And if you are then I've got to say that you're foolish and reckless. To defeat the enemies of the warriors of the north you'll fight the warriors from the current organization?" Galatea remarked.

"It's not like that. Our target is the organization we will not fight the warriors." Miria replied.

"That's one thing. To fight against the organization the current warriors will be sent out, a pointless battle between the current warriors and the original warriors will ensue. Original number 6 Phantom Miria surely wouldn't have overseen this point. And what are you going to do about the yoma? Even though we are hated and despised by humans the purpose of our existence is to hunt yoma. If there is no organization then the humans will be defenseless and will be wiped out by the yoma…" Galatea began as Christopher started laughing.

"What is so funny?" the claymore asked.

"You guys don't know do you? The only one who knows is Miria." Christopher laughed holding his sides as they looked at him like he was crazy.

"What is he talking about?" Galatea asked.

"You all forget. I'm from the original claymores; I was one of the first ones to be brought here from the mainland. This is an island hundreds of miles off shore from a massive land that is at war. This island is only a testing weapons facility so that they can create the perfect weapon to use against the dragon warriors on the mainland."

"How do you know this?" Clare asked.

"Like I said I am from the mainland. Me and the rest of the first male generation were brought over from the mainland, we all knew what would happen to us and we had all accepted the fact that we might not be able to remain in a human form. They then made us fight the yoma, their own creation, waiting for one of us to do something amazing that they could use in the war, their only major breakthrough is that woman work better than men for this project." He explained. Miria then gave a more detailed explanation and asked Galatea to look after the two defecting claymores. Christopher then walked over and looked at the two closely.

"It's ok. Nothing bad will happen now." He promised as the child looked at him.

"Papa." She said as she hugged him.

"What the…?" He muttered shocked that this little one was hugging him.

"She really likes you." The claymore with the colored hair remarked.

"She's only seen me for maybe ten minutes." He muttered as they walked off, Miria and Cynthia to the church to begin negotiations with the church, Galatea and the two claymores back to the children's church while the rest of them went with some of the soldiers to the bar to go drink. Christopher was sitting at the bar asking for the strongest drink that they had and was downing it by the bottle.

"I forgot how good this stuff is." He grinned as he felt the buzz coming on.

"When did you get the chance to drink?" Tabatha asked.

"Isley and I used to go out drinking all the time. Back then we were allowed to go to the nearby town and drink if we wanted to. Those were the good days, just sitting in a bar cracking jokes with Isley and Rigald." Christopher sighed as he remembered those days. Later that night Christopher walked out of the bar towards the cathedral to sleep. Lying back on his bed he slept almost instantly and woke to feel a form nestled up against him. Cracking open an eye he saw that it was the young claymore that had called him papa and she was curled against him in such a way that he couldn't move away.

"Clever kid." He muttered as he made small movements to move away but she moved back against him every time. After a few moments the door opened and the other claymore came in and picked her up, despite her whining protests.

"Sorry about that." She whispered.

"It's ok. Who are you anyway?"

"Clarice, and this is Miata." Clarice said.

"Christopher the former number 0." He said as he stood up and grabbed the straps of knives and his sword.

"I thought that there were only 47 claymores." Clarice remarked.

"Technically yes. However I have been able to resist awakening the longest so they kept me around as number 0 for special assignments, until I was sent to the northern war and faked my death along with my seven comrades." He replied as he walked off and headed to meet up with Miria while those two went to go take a bath. He arrived on the wall surrounding the city with the others where Miria gave the order for anyone that wanted to go take care of any regrets to go now.

"Well I don't plan on sitting around here on standby waiting for Clare to come back. So I might as well go back to my hometown. Your hometown is actually pretty close to there to Deneve." Helen remarked.

"I have no interest in visiting my hometown but I will go with you." Deneve replied.

"Anyone else?" Miria asked. When each said that they wouldn't be heading to their hometown Miria gave orders "Alright, Cynthia and Yuma, go with Clare. Christopher go with Helen and Deneve."

"What?!" Clare and Christopher said at the same time.

"Clare the rule of two applies to you as well, and with those two you wild tendencies will be cut down. Christopher, I want you with them since they are heading south. For the reason that we discussed." Miria explained.

"What reason is that?" Helen asked.

"The silver king." Christopher sighed. With those final orders they six went off three to the west and three to the east.


	11. AN

I am very sorry about the lack of updates lately. I no longer have a Microsoft word application so I can only type at my school or at my dad's house. I apologize for the wait and I will try to update as soon as I possibly can. Thank you for your patience.


End file.
